Echoes of the Sliver Screen

School

Dasein Academy of Art

Lecturer(s)

Lew Tau Fei

Brand

Lew Tau Fei

Rational

This project began with a simple curiosity. Surrounded by today’s sleek, modern cinemas, I wondered what came before them — the spaces where earlier generations once gathered, laughed, and escaped into stories. Echoes of the Silver Screen is a journey to uncover Malaysia’s forgotten cinemas, documented through film photography and on-the-ground exploration.

Each site revealed fragments of its former life: fading signboards, ageing facades, the architecture that once drew crowds, and the silent atmosphere of places long left behind. These details, small yet powerful, hint at the communities and memories that once filled their halls.

Blending visuals, recollections, and discoveries from the journey, this book reflects on how these cinemas shaped shared experiences. Though their lights have dimmed, their echoes linger — in the walls, the streets, and in the people who still remember what they meant.